Relief valve



oct. 16,' 1951 Q w, BONDURNT 2,571,667

RELIEF VALVE Filed Jan. 29, 1945 Fig.

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 16, V1951J RELIEF VALVE CarltonW-Bonduranh Dayton, Ohio, assignor'to Standard-Thomson Corporation,a corporationH ofDelaware 3l Claims.

This v.invention relates to a relief;.va1ve andrfis;v

designed more particularly iorvuse onA theestor age tank-of. a liquid. cooling vsystem ion thefengine;

of I ran.` airplane; but not'. limitedi totxsuoh.v use: The present application is a continuationinpart of` my. pending. application :Serial No. 479,035, filed March 13, 1943i,v nowr Patent. Number 2,431,457 issued Novemberl 2; .1947.1

The ordinary` relief` valve isV subject toi atmos-r phericr pressure and the` tank ipressure at which:

it-opens:varies. with variationsin atmospheric pressure.v Atmospheric 4pressure. decreasesas'f altitude increasesand. the rate. of decrease .ismnot uniform but the rateincreasesaslthe altitude in"- creases, for. example theedecrease. in atmospheric:

pressure .between altitudes.' of 120,000 feet andl 25,000 feetiis` muchlgreater than Ythe. decrease 'between .altitudes"of15,000.lfeet land.10,'000 feet.`

Oneiobject of theinvention provide a rey lief valve which will Vopennnder the sametank.

such a' relief fvalve which .will be simple :in .con-- struction, reliable in operation and which can` be produced at a low cost.

A further. obj ect of Lthe .inventionisy .to provide suchfa. relief .valve :which may. beso adjusted Vthat tank pressure. will be. maintained:,substantially at .the pressure of the ambient .atmosphereuntil a predetermined altitude .has been reached and at altitudes above said predeterminedaltitude tankpressure, will be maintained substantiallyfatY the pressure o the atmospher at` said predetermined altitude.

Other. .objects of. vthe .invention will appear as they deivce is described in. detail.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is:a seo;-`

tonal Vview vtaken centrally through: anreliefl val-ve embodying my; invention .and showing-the valve. membersk in .their normally. closed positions; Fig- Zfisasimilar section, partly. in elevation, show-` ing .thervalve seat. displaced; to admit atmos-v pheric airtothe tank; andxlig.3 -isfa transverse section taken on theline 3..--3` i Fig. 1'.:

these. drawings Lhavez: illustrated oneremrf 2. bodiment of myVA invention and have shownf the same as designed primarily' for attachmentv to`v the supplytank of a liquid'fcooling systemv for an airplane: engine;v but' it is to be understood that the invention may vtake various forms' and may beusedi in connectionwithwarious apparatusin which pressure relief isl desirable. Ther term` tank as herein used,v is intendedfto include: any receptacle.l or) conduitv adapted itocontainlffluid under pressure.

In that embodiment here.. illustrated theivalve' comprises a" lower tubular. structure 5f havingv means, such-asy a screw threaded'nipple-S, wherebyv itrnay'be, connectedwiththeitank andi-placed in-communication with the; interior thereof. Thisr lower structure also includes a; port l, through which liuid may-escape. when'the pres'- sure inthe tankV becomes excessive; an'daa valve seat :8. The valvea'lso includes anxupperf'struc'- ture adapted' to .supportv certain parts off the valve` and, in the present' instance-,1 to enclose partsvof the mechanism and protectv thefsame from injury. For vthat purposegthe upperistructure ishere shown asfan'inverted. cup-shaped member Sliavingarscrew threaded lower portion by which it Lis connected with afscrewv threaded iange `Iii-forming aspart of the lower structure. Itis' also .provided with an; opening toconnect the same with-theatmo'sphere', here shown asa. portion olf-'a tube Hi Arranged within the casing formed by.y the" lower and .upper structures is amovablelvalve member;v I @which is yieldably urged into sealing contac-twiththe valveseat 8.1 The valve memberand the valver seat may befof any suitable, `construction butfor a: purpose which will hereinafter appear-itis'desirablethat one of these :membersshouldr-behprovided 'with av relatively*narrowA contact edge; tov engage-z the other. member. so as-=to sharplyfdelne the area, of the lower.- surfaceof athevalvezmember which issubject-to pressure when the valve Vis closed. Inthat-embodiment shownin the above mentionedrapplicationthe valve-seat is shown as. of'hard material andashaV-ing across sectional shapeof an inverted -V,. the 'valve' member being. provided witha sealingfmember -of frelatively.- soft material having v'a latsurface to engage the sannular sharp edgefvalve seat. In the construction here shcwnthefvalve Aseat is preferably-formed olf -more or less yieldable material, such*` as rubber. off sufcientsottness to permit the. valvefsm'ember ftoi haveetight sealing; engagement' therewith, 1 and .the valve. vmember is provi-dedwith alower annulant contact 4-portionl l 3 '1 off: substan-v tially,v veshape. crossesectionY` and'f-adapt'edrfto 3 engage the valve seat. It is to be noted that the terms upper and lower are herein used for convenience in referring to the drawings and that the valve may be mounted in any suitable position without materially affecting the operation thereof.

The valve member may be urged into engagement with the valve seat by any suitable means which will prevent it from opening until the tank pressure exceeds a predetermined limit. Preferably a coiled spring I 4 is confined between the upper, or outer, surface of the valve member and a supporting member, or head I5, which is connected with and normally held against movement by the upper structure 9. The head is here shown as approximately disk-like in formation and is connected with the structure 9 by an adjusting member I6 which is screw threaded into the upper part of that structure and is connected with the head I5 for rotation with relation thereto and is held against axial movement with relation thereto. In the arrangement shown the inner end of the member I6 extends into a hollow boss I'I on the head and is secured therein by a pin Il extending through a circumferential groove in the member I6. Thus the member I6 serves as an adjusting device whereby the compression of the spring I4 may be varied to cause the valve to open at a selected tank pressure. When the valve is to operate at approximately sea level, or continuously at any given altitude, the spring may be adjusted to provide for the opening of the valve, at that altitude, at the desired tank pressure and there will be little variation in its operation. However, when the outer surface of the valve member is subjected to atmospheric pressure that pressure provides part of the resistance to the opening movement of the valve member under tank pressure. Consequently an increase or decrease in atmospheric pressure modifies the total resistance offered to the opening movement of the valve member and the latter will open under different tank pressures at different altitudes. To prevent the valve member from opening under different tank pressures at different altitudes I have provided means for preventing atmospheric pressure from acting on the valve member, so that the resistance offered by the spring and by the bellows itself constitutes the whole of the resistance to the opening of the valve member and that resistance therefore remains constant. For this purpose I have so enclosed the central portion of the upper surface of the valve member that it will not be subject to atmospheric pressure, the portion so enclosed being of an area substantially equal to the area of that portion of the lower surface of the valve member which is subject to tank pressure when the valve member is in its closed position. The enclosure is preferably in the form of a hermetically sealed extensible housing enclosing the spring as well as a portion of the outer surface of the valve member. In the preferred construction the housing is in the form of a cylindrical bellows I8, of the type sold under the name Sylphon, and this bellows is connected at its respective ends with the valve member I2 and the head I5, the connections being tightly sealed, as by solder, and the head forming a part of the housing. The bellows is substantially concentric with the axis of the valve seat and the elfective diameter thereof, as dened by median lines extending through the folds thereof, is substantially equal to the diameter of the annular seat engaging edge of the valve member. Consequently that portion of the outer surface of the valve member which is enclosed by the bellows has an effective area substantially equal to the area of that portion of the inner surface of the valve member which is subjected to tank pressure. The exterior surface of the housing and the exposed parts of the valve member are such that the atmospheric pressure thereon is substantially equalized and balanced out. Therefore atmospheric pressure has no effect whatever upon the movement of the Valve member from its closed position and that member will open at all altitudes under a tank pressure sufcient to compress the spring Il and bellows.

In some installations it may be desirable for the valve to open at high altitudes at a tank pres-v sure slightly different from the tank pressure under which it normally opens. This may be accomplished, without otherwise changing the apparatus, by increasing or decreasing the diam-- eter of the annular contact edge of the valve: member and thus increasing or decreasing the effective area of the valve member which is exposed to tank pressure only, when in its closed. position.

Should the bellows I8 contain air or other uid the opening movement of the valve member would compress the air within the bellows and thus in crease the resistance to the opening of the valve.` member beyond the resistance offered by thef spring alone. Further, any air contained in the: bellows would contract and expand under the influence of changes in temperature, such as occur in changing altitudes, and the additional resist,-

ance thus oifered to the opening movement of.'

the valve member would vary in accordance withvariations in atmospheric temperature. therefore desirable that the bellows should be as: free as possible from uid of any kind and this'y is accomplished by substantially evacuating all fluid from the bellows, that is, removing the fluid to as great an extent as is practical. To permit this to be done I have, in the present instance, -provided the valve member I2 with an opening I 9 through which the air may be evacuated and which may be then closed by inserting therein a plug 20 and tightly sealing the same, as by soldering. Thus the action of the valve member is in no way aifected 4by changes either in atmospheric pressure or in temperature.

Under some conditions of operation the pressure in the tank of the cooling system may fall so far below atmospheric pressure as to endanger the tank or other parts of the system. To avoid this danger the relief valve is provided with means for automatically admitting air to the tank when the pressure within the tank falls substantially below atmospheric pressure at any altitude. This may be accomplished in various ways and in the present construction the valve seat is so supported that it will be retained in its normal operative position, for engagement with the valve mem-` ber,` by tank pressure acting thereon and when the tank pressure falls substantially below atmospheric pressure the valve seat will be displaced by atmospheric pressure to permit air to flow past the contact edge of the valve member and through the port into the tank. As here shown, the valve seat is a part of an annular member 2| which is yieldably supported in the lower structure of the valve. The outer edge of the annular member is secured to the wall of the structure and the inner edge thereof is free to move and thus permit the valve seat to move with relation to the valvemember. The port 'I may be pro- It is;

vided in any suitable manner 'and it is' here shown as comprising an opening `in a 'short tubular member 22 which is separate 'from the lower structure and is connected with the' inner edge of the yieldable member 2l for movement'therewith. The lower surface 'of the yieldable member 2| is preferably supported by a vrigid annular member 23 and inthe arrangement shown the port member 22 has at its'upper end an outwardly extending flange 24 engaging the inner portion of the upper surface of the yieldable member 2l and has its lower end 25 upset against the lower surface of the rigidmember 23 to rigidly connect the yieldable member 2l with the port member and the supporting memben'for movement in unison. The yieldablemember 2| may be connected with the structurel', in any suitable manner, in the present arrangement the upper part of the structure 5, which carries the flange I0, is of an enlarged diameter and the yieldable member is approximately Z-shaped in cross section and the lower radial portion 26 thereof is seated in a recess adjacent the lower edge of the flange l0 and is tightly clamped therein by an annular member 2l' which is movably supported within the iiange, and is held in clamping engagement with the edge portion of the yieldable member by the lower edge of the upper member 9. The intermediate portion of the yieldable member extends upwardly along lthe inner side of the clamping member and the upper radial portion thereof extends inwardly for connection with the port member as described. The clamping member is provided with apart or flange 22 which extends inwardly in contact with the upper surface of the yieldable member 2l to a line adjacent to but spaced some distance from the line on which the valve member engages the valve seat. The clamping member 21 also has a vertical flange 29 which extends upwardly about the valve member l2 and forms a guide therefor. That portion of the valve member which extends radially outward beyond the seat engaging portion thereof is provided with recesses 30 to connect the space between the flange 28 and the seat engaging portion I3 of the valve member with the atmosphere, thereby subjecting the yieldable member 2l at all times to atmospheric pressure. Thus the yieldable member 2l, and that part thereof forming a valve seat, are held by tank pressure in a normally operative position which is predetermined by the iiange 28 which limits the upward movement of the yieldable member. Should the tank pressure fall substantially below atmospheric pressure the pressure on the upper surface of the yieldable member will depress the same sufficiently to permit air to pass between the yieldable member and the contact edge of the valve member and through the port 7 to the tank. To prevent the valve member from moving downwardly with the valve seat and thus either preventing or retarding the entrance of air into the tank the movement of the valve member in port closing direction is limited, as by a shoulder 3l formed on the clamping member 21 and so located that the valve member may move downwardly into firm contact with the valve seat but will have no appreciable further movement when the valve seat is depressed.

To prevent the flexible structure, that is, the member 2 I, the port member 22 and the supporting member 23, from moving away from the valve member when the tank is under low pressure or under no pressure, I have provided means for yieldably supporting the structure with the valve seat'in its normal predetermined position whenA the pressure in the tank is insufficient to support-v the weight of the yieldable structure. Thisv means preferably comprises a spring 32 interposedbe-- tween the yieldable structure and a shoulder 33 in the lower structure 5. The spring may be of just suicient strength to support the weight of the yieldable structure and thus offer very little resistance tothe'depression of the valve seat by atmospheric pressure, or it may be of such strength as to prevent the depression ofthe valve seat by atmospheric pressure until the pressure in the tank has fallen aldesired amount below atmospheric pressure.

In addition to accomplishing the purposes above set forth the yieldable valve seat causesa quick opening and closing of the valve, thereby avoiding the seepage between the valve seat and the valve member such as results from a` gradual opening or closing of the valve. The initial opening movement of thevalve member I2v permits a flow of air under tank pressure about the contact edge thereof and this air exerts pressure on the exposed upper surface of the yieldable member 2l and this pressure, in addition to atmospheric pressure, moves the valve seat downwardly simultaneously with'the upward movement of the valve member, thus quickly completing the opening movement of the valve. The yieldable member is retained in its depressed position during the venting'ot' thetank and as the valve member closely approaches the valve seat, on its closing movement, the pressure on the upper surface ofthe yieldable member is so reduced that tank pressure will move the yieldablel member upwardly, thus quickly closing the valve.

It is sometimes desirable to maintain tank pressure at the pressure of the ambient atmosphere until a predetermined altitude is reached and to then, at higher altitudes, maintain tank pressure at the pressure of the atmosphere at said predetermined altitude regardless of changes in the pressure of the ambient atmosphere. By adjusting the screw I6 the bellows may be moved upwardly such a distance that the spring will not overcome the pressure of the ambient atmosphere on the valve member suiiciently to seat the latter until the predetermined altitude, say twenty thousand feet', has been reached. Thus the tank pressure will be the same as the pressure of the ambient atmosphere until an altitude of twenty thousand feet is reached, at which time the valve will be closed and will function at all higher altitudes to maintain the tank pressure at the equivalent of atmospheric pressure at twenty thousand feet.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as various modifications may occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a relief valve comprising a tubular structure having means whereby it may be attached to a tank containing fluid under pressure. an annular element of flexible material, the outer portion of which is secured to said structure and the inner portion of which is free to move with relation to said outer portion and has a part forming a valve seat, the central opening in said annular element constituting a port, said inner portion of said annular element being subtion of said annular element also being subjected to atmospheric pressure to move said valve seat out of engagement with said valve member when.

said atmospheric pressure materially exceeds tank pressure.

2. In a relief valve having means whereby it may be attached to a tank containing fluid under pressure and having a port leading from said tank, an annular member of exible material extending about said port, having one edge secured in a fixed position and its other edge free to move, and also having a part forming a valve seat, said member being so arranged that the tank pressure tends to normally move said valve seat upwardly, a downwardly urged valve member to engage the upper surface of said .valve seat, means other than said valve member to limit the upward movement of said valve seat, the upper surface of said exible member being exposed to atmospheric pressure which tends to move said valve seat downwardly when atmospheric pressure exceeds tank pressure, and means to so limit the downward movement of said valve member that said downward movement of said valve seat will separate the latter from said valve member.

3. A relief valve comprising a structure having a port to communicate with a source of fluid under pressure and also having a valve seat of yieldable material extending about said port, a

movable valve member having a downwardly extending annular part of rigid material to engage said valve seat, spring means for moving said valve member into engagement with and retaining the same on said valve seat, a hermetically sealed bellows concentric with the axis of said Valve seat, having at its upper end a stationary closure and having its lower end secured directly to the upper surface of said valve member, and having an effective diameter substantially equal to the diameter of that portion of said valve member which is within said downwardly extending part of the latter, whereby atmospheric pressures on said bellows and said valve member are substantially balanced when said valve is closed and the movement of said valve member in port opening direction is resisted solely by said spring means and said bellows.

CARLTON W. BONDURANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 122,756 Camerer Jan. 16, 1872 1,138,278 Castle May 4, 1915 1,891,119 Stover Dec. 13, 1932 1,981,965 Morgan Nov. 27, 1934 2,047,722 Work July 14, 1936 2,290,059 Martin-Hurst July 14, 1942 2,317,427 Worth Apr. 27, 1943 2,345,547 Roth Mar. 28, 1944 2,366,146 Martin-Hurst Dec. 26, 1944 2,437,187 Eshbaugh Mar. 2, 1948 

